So today I want to try and even that out by talking about something that a commenter on yesterday’s article about PlayStation Plus brought up which has actually been a constant argument in the recent console war debates; that of the sales figures for each console. I must admit that I’ve wanted to talk about this ever since Dead Space 3’s early sales figures were released midway through last year, but now offers the best real opportunity to talk about it across the gaming spectrum, not just related to a specific game series which is likely now defunct thanks to EA’s oversaturating of everything.

Last generation saw three really great gaming consoles release to the world. First came Microsoft’s Xbox 360, then Nintendo’s Wii and finally Sony’s PlayStation 3, each hot on the heels of the previous generation’s Xbox and GameCube, which enjoyed moderate success, and PlayStation 2, which blew all competition clean out of the water. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you side with, Sony slipped up initially by doing what Microsoft is currently doing with the One and seeming very anti-consumer, and the result of the clunky, expensive, technologically superior but far too complicated PS3 release was that more and more gamers moved over to other consoles instead. That and Microsoft and Nintendo were experts at marketing — Microsoft selling Halo to the world, and Nintendo telling people Wii stocks were severely limited. The liars.

Now if you judged each console after a year, you’d probably have ruled the PS3 as a gigantic failure. Yes? Underwhelming sales figures, not that many great exclusives, not much going for it at all. Here are the current sales figures for each console:

PlayStation 3 — 80 million

Xbox 360 — 82.9 million

Wii — 100.90 million

Well fuck. Would you look at that. The PS3 isn’t a complete and total financial failure after all. But we already know this because in recent years with exclusives the likes of the Uncharted series, The Last of Us and Journey and a brilliant PlayStation Plus subscription model that actually rewards gamers, the PS3 has been considered a success for years now. If anything, it was the strongest finisher… and really ladies, isn’t that what we all want? (Uhm.)

More surprising for me is that the Wii sold that much — I guess that’s the power of marketing toys to families.

Now let’s take a look at the current sales figures for this generation’s consoles:

PlayStation 4 — 6 million

Xbox One — 3.9 million

Wii U — 5.86 million

So what can we currently interpret from those sales figures? Well, at present point the Wii U is lagging behind, with a year of extra time in the world but less sales than the PS4 to show for it. This, Nintendo, is because everybody who bought a Wii already has a Wii and doesn’t need a new toy to play with; they are not the type of players of games who ‘upgrade’ anyway. And aiming for the hardcore market is very admirable but good luck trying to win over the Sony and Microsoft hardcore.

Speaking of, those arguments of the Xbox One only selling half as well are quite dismissive of the fact that the Xbox One has only released in half the countries, and for slightly more in terms of price. Thus when you factor in those two elements, the picture becomes slightly less one-sided. Let’s price every one of those sales at the recommended amounts. That means Sony has currently made $2.349 billion in gross console revenue and Microsoft has made $1.9461. Not that much of a difference, hey?

Factor in overall game sales per console, if we actually had these figures available to us right now (all we know is that at present time Sony’s overall PS4 games sales figure stands at around 13 million) and we could draw an even more comprehensive picture of what the financial statistics really look like, but I think we can stop here and say that the difference really isn’t as large as everyone makes it out to be.

Of course, we don’t actually know how much of a loss Sony and Microsoft makes on each console sale, so for all intents and purposes one of these companies could be making a lot less than we think, and therefore has that much more reliance on game sales in order to appease investors and pay the bills.

Still it’s quite clear that the Xbox One isn’t doing as bad as everyone thinks it’s doing. Then again the internet has always been about vocal minorities and so for all the hate and criticism the so-called ‘Xbone’ gets online, there are a good few people going out to their local retailer and purchasing a One, assuming it has released in their region. And when the console is out in the rest of the world, hopefully not for a ridiculous price, we might start to see a better picture of how the Xbox One performs.

I could now bring this back to game sales figures and talk about how it frustrates me when companies the likes of Square Enix and Electronic Arts look at initial sales figures and then condemn a game for not doing well even if it will consistently sell copies for years, but perhaps that’s a story for another time.

I agree that it’s a marathon not a sprint but mainstream multiplayer gamers probably wouldn’t get an xbone if all their friends have a PS4.

datdude

Nothing worse than reading an article in which the author is completely clueless. The ps3 leads the xbox one in worldwide sales, despite releasing more than one full year later and the multiple replacement sales Microsoft enjoyed due to red ring atrociously high failure rate. And to compound the buffoonery, the author lists xbox at 3.9 million when that was the number shipped to retail, not sold through to consumers. I hope this “author” isn’t getting paid to pontificate on these matters as someone who can’t even bother to get the numbers correct should really remain silent instead of broadcasting their ignorance to the entire internet.

I don’t get it…so you must realize the numbers you posted in your article are wrong….so why include those faulty numbers in the article?

http://egamer.co.za/author/cavie Caveshen “CaViE” Rajman

1. The PS3 leads the Xbox One? Don’t you mean 360? 2. I already linked my source in the article and now I’ve presented a secondary source for you to look at, which shows that the numbers are quite close to the ones I have presented in the article. 3. You’re obviously just here to have a go at me for this article so by all means.

datdude

I’m here to point out that in your article, 1. you claim the 360 outsold the ps3…82.9 million to 80 million respectively. Yet in the very chart you provide those numbers should be reversed, with ps3 leading 360 despite the 360 being on the market more than one full year longer. 2. You provide incorrect totals for xbone sales…listing 3.9 million sold when that figure is actually the number shipped to retailers not sold through to consumers. The actual number for ps4 sales to date is 6 million while the xbone sits at 3.5 million, or thereabouts. 3. And lastly, you are correct, there was a typo on my part regarding ps3 mention, but that was due to the fact I was also going to mention the ps3 is outselling the xbone globally in 2014, in both january and february. So no, I’m not “here to have a go at you”. I just wish people who post articles would get the numbers straight and at least do a modicum of research before posting b.s. numbers that a simple google search could clarify.

http://egamer.co.za/author/cavie Caveshen “CaViE” Rajman

Mind you, I did hyperlink my source in the article itself. And the numbers I posted aren’t that far off from your own numbrs, so why is this grounds for calling out my integrity as a writer? If I trusted the link I sent to you instead of the one I originally sourced as the definitive version, would you then have had complaints?

datdude

If you’re going to write about a subject, ANY subject, you need to get the basics correct, or don’t write the article. Is it really too much to ask that an author of an article do some simple fact checking before publishing inaccuracies? If that strains your talents, that is a you problem. Wrong is wrong. The numbers you posted were inaccurate. Sloppy work. End of story.

http://egamer.co.za/author/cavie Caveshen “CaViE” Rajman

Show me proof that your numbers are more factually correct than mine and I will gladly concede. So far I’m the only one not making wild accusations but backing up my figures with hard sources.

datdude

Google search is your friend. Npd or vgchartz will suffice. And “backing up your figures with hard sources” is laughable, as the sources you’re referring to illustrate the error in your article regarding sales for ps3/360. So if by “backing up” you mean illuminating your own mistakes, then by all means, yes you’re correct.

Yes I realise it’s a Wikipedia link so that’s why I went looking for something else. The numbers in that second link are not that far off from my original ones. Are you just butthurt because my numbers show the PS3 as having sold slightly less? Or do you make a habit of completely missing the point of the article and acting as if the numbers are more vastly different than the before and after pictures of Lindsay Lohan?

datdude

You leave Lindsay alone, you bastard.

AG_Sonday

I think you’ve missed the point of the article. Yes, the figures were incorrect but the gist of it remains intact. The numbers were not there to trump up any specific console but simply prove a point during the infancy of PS4 and X1.

http://egamer.co.za/author/cavie Caveshen “CaViE” Rajman

Plus, the numbers are correct according to the original source link. That second link serves only to emphasise that while the numbers themselves might be up for discussion, they’re in the ballpark.